You know, this nation is blessed by the talents and the hard work
of Hispanic Americans, and we're really blessed by the values of
familia y fe that strengthen our nation on a daily basis. It is
fitting we honor Hispanic Americans in our country. It's part of our
country -- an incredibly important part of our country. I also think
it's fitting that the way to honor Hispanic Americans is to revel in
the vitality of the Hispanic culture that was displayed today. The
music that honors the roots, the rhythm, the life of the Latino.

I appreciate my Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza. He's been a
longtime friend. He was the Secretary of State in the state of Texas.
It gave him a chance to learn diplomacy. (Laughter.) He's a great man
and a great friend.

I have asked people from Hispanic heritage to join my
administration: Hans Hertell, who is the Ambassador to the Dominican
Republic, is with us -- (Applause.) Hans brought his family with
him. (Laughter.)

I've got a Cabinet Secretary de Cuba who is Mel Martinez. I don't
know if you know Mel's story -- speaks volumes about our nation and
about Mel's upbringing. In the early '60s, Cuban parents were worried
about their sons growing, their daughters growing up in tyranny. They
were afraid about what it would be like for a child to grow up in a
world in which terror reigned and there was no freedom. And so Mel's
parents put him on an airplane destined for the United States of
America.

Imagine the choice of a parent -- I would daresay there's really
one country, though, that a parent would be feeling comfortable of
sending their child to, and that's America, because of what we stand
for. Mel is Pedro Pan. He is now in the Cabinet of the President of
the United States -- which speaks volumes about you, Mel, and volumes
about our country, as well. (Applause.) Hector Barreto is with us
today, runs the SBA. Where are you, Hector? Donde esta? Thank you,
Hector. (Applause.)

Everybody needs to have a good abogado. (Laughter.) I've got a
really good one -- (laughter) -- Al Gonzales is my lawyer and close
friend. (Applause.) Eduardo Aguirre is the Director of Citizenship
and Immigration Services. Welcome, Eduardo. Gaddi Vazquez. Donde
esta, Gaddi? Where is he? Peace Corps, running the Peace Corps. He's
out recruiting new members. (Laughter and applause.) A donde? Oh,
yes, there he is. (Applause.) Gaddi got here a little late.
(Laughter.)

I want to thank these folks for serving our administration so well
-- we've got ambassadors from around the world here with us today. I
am honored that Embajador Jose -- Juan Jose Bremer de Mexico esta
aqui. Good to see you, Jose. (Applause.) Hugo Guiliani de el
Dominican Republic. (Applause.) Senor Embajador. Luis Alberto Moreno
Mejia de Colombia. (Applause.) Embajador Rene Leon from El Salvador,
good to see you, sir. (Applause.) Francisco Javier Ruperez, de
Espana. (Applause.) Murilo Gabrielli, who is the Deputy Chief of
Mission from Brazil. Thank you for coming, Murilo. (Applause.)

I'm so honored that members of the United States Congress are here
with us today. The Senator from the great state of Texas -- I
emphasize the great state of Texas -- John Cornyn. (Applause.) The
Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, Ileana
Ros-Lethinen, from Florida. (Applause.) Mario Diaz-Balart from
Florida is with us. (Applause.) Devin Nunes, from California. Donde
esta Devin? (Applause.) It's an old trick here in Washington, get
your name on the roster, but don't show up. (Laughter.) At least you
get mentioned. (Laughter.)

Bob Beauprez of Colorado is with us. (Applause.) Jon Porter is
with us, from the great state of Nevada. (Applause.) Thank you, Jon.
Jerry Weller is with us. (Applause.) From Arizona, Rick Renzi is with
us. And finally, from New Mexico, Steve Pearce. (Applause.) Thank
you for coming. (Applause.) I want to thank you all for being here.
It's a good sign that members of the Congress take an interest in the
Hispanic Heritage Month. And I appreciate you coming.

I also want to thank Brian Sandoval, who is the Attorney General
from the state of Nevada. It's awfully kind for him to come all the
way over here. Brian, thank you, sir. (Applause.) I am so pleased
that my friend, Emilio Estefan, is here. Emilio helps put this event
on. (Applause.) Emilio puts this event on -- or helps us put this
event on every year. And it's awfully kind of you to do this. It's
good to see you.

I am also honored that Lisa Guerrero is with us. Lisa, thank you
very much for serving as the emcee. I appreciate you being on TV on
Monday nights, too. (Laughter and applause.)

Carlos Ponce, thank you for coming, Carlos. I appreciate you,
Carlos. It's good to see you again. It's good to see you on Monday
night, as well.

I'm so honored that Father Cutie is here. Thank you very much for
leading us in the blessing. Bacilos -- thank you, guys, for being the
young stars. The Ambassador turned to me and said, these are the young
dudes, the young stars of the music scene. (Laughter.) I can see
why. Congratulations. Thank you -- (Applause.)

Alexandre, thank you very much. Fantastic. (Applause.) You know,
Alexandre, I love your spirit. It's clear to see your heart and soul,
and thank you very much. You were good. Tambien, mi amigo de Puerto
Rico. What a voice. Thank you, very much. (Applause.)

I am -- let me see. I'm probably going to leave somebody out here
as we get moving through here. Victor, thank you. Awesome job. I
appreciate you coming. (Applause.)

Obviously, the person who invited the guest list here knows I love
baseball. We've got a lot of the baseball stars here. I do love
baseball. One of my favorite baseball players of all time is a person
who's going to be in the Hall of Fame, and that's Rafael Palmiero, of
the Texas Rangers. I want to thank you for coming. (Applause.) And
Lynn is here. Thank you for coming, Lynn.

I'm glad you brought your manager with you. He's not exactly a
Latino ball player, but he's a fine guy, and that's Buck Showalter.
Thank you for coming, Buck, and thank you for bringing your family.
(Applause.) It's good to see you all.

I also know your general manager really well -- he's a really good
guy, isn't he? Omar Minaya, mi amigo. Thank you for coming, Omar.
(Applause.) And congratulations. I knew you'd make it all along.
You're probably wondering why I didn't make you general manager of the
Rangers, but nevertheless -- (laughter.) Omar is the general manager
of the Montreal Expos. He really does a great job. And I've known
Omar a long time. He's a great baseball guy. More important, he's a
great person. I'm really proud to have you here.

Just to show you that we're multi-sport people here, it is my honor
to welcome Carlos Arroyo. Carlos, I want to thank you very much for
coming. He's the basketball player for the Utah Jazz. (Applause.)

Katie, thank you very much for leading us in the Anthem. You've
got a beautiful voice, you've got a lot of poise and a lot of talent,
and we're honored that you're here with us today. Thanks for coming.
We're really glad you're here. And thanks for bringing your little
brother. I hope he's nice to you all the time. (Laughter.)

The contributions of the Hispanic community have made this country
stronger and better. Today we honor the contributions of the
entertainment we had here in the East Room. I don't know if you know
this, but this is a common occurrence for the Bush administration, to
honor men and women of Hispanic descent, to honor their presence and
listen to their talents. But this has happened throughout the years in
the White House. There's been some interesting moments here. Pablo
Casals was a Spanish-born cellist. He lived in Puerto Rico. He
performed for two Presidents -- catch this -- the first was Theodore
Roosevelt in 1904; and the second was John Kennedy in 1961 -- 57 years
in between his first and second visit. Nevertheless, he graced this
room and this house.

We've also had Jose Limon, he's a modern dancer; Edward Villella;
to my family's friend, Gloria Estefan. You should have brought her.
(Laughter and applause.)

One Hispanic entertainer we remember in a special way today is the
Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. (Applause.) She was an unforgettable
performer who fled Cuba in 1960. She became a U.S. citizen and spent
the rest of her life sharing the rhythms of her homeland with people
all around the world. Celia Cruz passed away three months ago. We
miss her and we honor today to welcome her husband, Pedro --
(Applause.)

We are not only blessed with the culture of the Hispanic in
America, we're also blessed by the fact that our country is
strengthened because of the spirit of hard work and enterprise. It's
part of the Latino culture. We see the spirit in thousands of small
businesses and the careers of business people all across our country.
And one of the most vibrant parts of our economy is the small business
sector, and one of the vibrant parts of the small business sector is
the Latinos who own small businesses, really one of the great success
stories of America. (Applause.)

Let me tell you a story about Lou Sobh, who is with us today. In
1960, he left Mexico, no money, and he couldn't speak the language. He
came to America. He didn't -- he couldn't speak the language at all,
so he worked, and he taught himself English. He ended up becoming a
janitor in a department store, a hard worker. He had a dream, and he
was working toward his dream. He served in the United States Army. He
got out of the Army, and he had a dream to open up his own car
dealership. Today, he owns 14 -- not one car dealership, but 14 car
dealerships. He employs 800 people. He's got three car franchises in
Mexico.

He's living proof of the American Dream. It's an incredibly
important part of our nation, the Latino spirit of hard work and drive
and enterprise. And, Lou, I want to congratulate you for being a
success and setting an example. Thank you for coming, sir.
(Applause.)

Today, as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we also must take
pride in the generations of Hispanic Americans who have served in
America's Armed Forces -- served to protect and defend a nation they
love. Forty-two Hispanic Americans -- 42 -- cuarenta dos -- have
earned the highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. That's a
lot. Today, men and women of Hispanic heritage continue to serve and
sacrifice in the defense of freedom. They have our respect and they
have our gratitude.

Earlier this year, at the National Naval Medical Center, I had an
amazing experience -- Eduardo was there. I had the chance and
privilege of meeting a patriot, Master Gunnery Sergeant Guadalupe
Denogean. Sergeant Denogean is an immigrant from Mexico. He has
served in the Marine Corps for 25 years. Last spring, he was wounded
in combat in Basara, Iraq, and he was sent back for treatment. They
asked Sergeant Denogean, did he have any requests? He said he had
two: He wanted a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him; and
the second request is he wanted to be an American citizen.

I was there the day Sergeant Denogean took his oath of
citizenship. Eduardo administered the oath. In a hospital where he
was recovering, this son of Mexico raised his right hand and pledged to
support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
What made that moment amazing to me is that he had kept that oath for
decades before he took it. I'm proud of the Sergeant. I'm proud to
call him, citizen. I'm proud to call him, fellow citizen to America.

Through the lives of people like Sergeant Denogean and Lou and
Celia Cruz, it is clear that the American Dream belongs to todos. It's
for everybody, not just a few. And that's the greatness of our
country. It's the spirit of America. And it's important that this
generation and future generations keep that dream alive.

We've got to make sure that hard work is a place that is respected
and rewarded. We must make sure that our entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs
from all walks of life have the opportunity to dream and work hard and
realize their ambitions. We must make sure that the dream of
homeownership is available for every citizen in our country. We must
make sure that every child gets educated, that the public schools
educate every single child, those whose parents may speak English,
those whose parents may not yet speak English. Education belongs to
everybody. High standards belongs to everybody. We must challenge the
soft bigotry of low expectations in American public schools.
(Applause.)

We're proud of our country. We're a strong country. We're
militarily strong, and I'll keep us that way. But our wealth isn't
really found in our military, or our pocketbooks. The true strength of
America is found in the character of the American people, in the
courage of the people, the creativity of our people, and in the
compassion of our people.

As governor, and now as President, I've seen the character of
America and the character of millions of Hispanic Americans who make
our nation a better place. The warmth and the vitality of the Hispanic
culture, the energy and faith of Hispanic men and women are great gifts
to America.

I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate those gifts. Que
Dios los bendiga a todos, y que Dios bendiga a los Estados Unidos.
Thank you for coming. (Applause.)